Phoenix Burn
by LoremIpsum
Summary: A year has past since the events of the movie. The line between this world and the supernatural has suddenly grown thinner. Dave has to stop the oncoming darkness before it engulfs the world. Easier said than done.
1. Rain

**Phoenix Burn**

A/N: So the Sorcerer's Apprentice was a great movie that I truly enjoyed. It's basically by the same team who made my other fandom, National Treasure. The thing about these blockbuster movies is that you want to see more stuff done with the characters. Like, just them hanging out together, but then you remember it's a summer blockbuster. So that is where fanfiction comes it. I truly love the character in this movie and I wanted to write a story involving them.

Thank you once again to **Jedi Pirate Jaeh **for being a kick ass fandom buddy and beta. Keep an eye out for her Sorcerer's Apprentice story she is writing now.

This song was featured in the end credits of Sorcerer's Apprentice, and I loved it so much. It becomes the title of my story, but it's actually relevant as well.

* * *

"**When everything falls apart**

**I could try, but I'd never take it**

**Yell and I will never be heard**

**You will be my phoenix burn**

**I could run, but I'd never reach it**

**Leave but I might never return**

**You will be my phoenix burn"**

**"Phoenix Burn" by Alpha Rev**

* * *

Dave Stutler was a damned good sprinter. He had most of his life to practice. In elementary school and middle school he learned how to avoid bullies. And as he discovered recently, this skill was useful for running from evil wolves, dragons and the like. Right now however, he was sprinting for all he was worth to his class.

"Oh man, oh man," he muttered, dodging a taxi that beeped angrily at him. This was Dave's final strike for that class. One more and he would be kicked out. Dave did not see anything remotely fair to that. It wasn't his fault his bed was so comfy and he hit the snooze alarm one too many times. It wasn't his fault that the class started at eight o'clock am.

To be fair, he had been helping Balthazar subdue a troll that was running loose in Central Park_. _At this point Dave would have preferred being chased by a troll or some other supernatural entity than have to face Professor Hicks again.

Dave groaned and zipped through a crowd of annoyed looking pedestrians. The rain pelted hard at his face, and it didn't help that it was a cool autumn day. He didn't have time to grab an umbrella and now he was pretty much soaked through.

"Watch where you're going kid!"

"Sorry, excuse me," he called lamely.

He glanced down at his oversized Mickey Mouse watch, wiped some water droplets off and grimaced. Five minutes and counting. _I could just use a little magic… to get me to run faster. _His mentor's strict rule said otherwise though. _No shortcuts, Dave. _Dave knew he was right. And he learned his lesson in a very, er, wet way. How embarrassing.

Panting, he stumbled through the double doors of the NYU building. He slipped down the hallway tracked with water, nearly ramming into another student and sprinted to his lecture hall.

The entire class turned to stare at him in one motion as he entered. Dave winced and tried to slip into the back, but the hope of being unnoticed was pretty much dashed at this point. Professor Hicks was writing some equation on the chalkboard and didn't even look up when Dave entered.

"You're late Stutler," he drawled, still lazily writing away.

"Sorry… Professor…" Dave wheezed, shaking off some of the water from his sleeves. He looked at his watch. Two minutes after eight. Two. Minutes.

Professor Hicks slowly turned around, his eyebrow raised. "You know what this means, Stutler. I have a strict three strikes and you're out, policy."

"Come on Professor," Dave groaned. "It's only… two minutes after. Give me a break."

Professor Hicks looked at him in disdain. "Pleading really doesn't suit you. I had high hopes for you. But apparently you don't care enough to be here on time. Now get out of my classroom so I can teach."

Dave stood there, dripping wet, staring at the man. He was beginning to shiver from the combined cold air of the room and being drenched in rain. Not wanting to look more pathetic than he already did, he avoided his classmate's sympathetic looks and ducked back out of the classroom.

Dave sloshed back through the hallway, wishing he could just dry himself off. _No shortcuts, no shortcuts, no shortcuts… _He threw himself onto a bench and peeled off his dripping sweater. Dave looked at the ceiling and let out a sigh. He wanted to feel angry at his Professor (or now his ex-Professor) but he really didn't. Mostly he felt exhausted.

The worst thing about this whole situation was that the news would eventually get back to his father. And well… Dave didn't want to think about that right now. Trying to reason with his dad was worse than trying to negotiate with a charging troll. He felt himself shiver for a reason other than cold, and felt a little nauseous.

Sighing, he placed his book bag to the side, and closed his eyes, enjoying the fact that for now, he didn't have anywhere he needed to be and he could just rest…

"Dave?"

"Ack!" Dave jumped and glanced around. Becky stood there, gazing down at him with concerned eyes. She wore a white waist length coat, and her blond hair hung curled down to her shoulders, slightly damp. She actually had the sense to prepare for the inclement weather; she wore flower pattered rain boots and leaned on a folded yellow umbrella.

She slipped onto the bench next to him.

"Dave, what are you doing here? I thought you had class…" she frowned at his clothes. "You're soaked and shivering."

"Yeeeaaaah, about that, those two are not mutually exclusive." Dave sighed.

Becky winced in sympathy. "Professor Hicks kicked you out?"

Dave nodded miserably. "I'd pretend not to care, but I kind of do. I mean it wasn't a required class, and Superconductivity is something I already mostly know about…"

"I almost didn't pass High School Algebra, and you're taking extra classes in _physics_?"

"Hey, I use all of my brain, remember?"

She shook her head in amusement. "Yeah, yeah. Sorcerer and all that."

Becky took his hand, rubbing his cold fingers until warmth spread through them. Dave gave her a thankful tired smile. "Thanks for the friction. I would hug you but I don't want to get you wet too."

"You should get back home," Becky still looked at Dave with worried eyes. "You could catch a bad cold."

Dave shrugged and sniffed, wiping at his nose with his sleeve. "It's not like it would make this day a…ah..ACHOO!" He let out a very loud sneeze that startled several students walking by. "…any worse," he finished and sniffed again. Becky rolled her eyes and pulled out a tissue, handing it to him.

"You're my superhero," he muttered and blew his nose.

She grinned and helped him to his feet. "Come on Lois, let's get you back home."

He titled his head at her. "Don't you have a DJ slot right now?"

Becky shrugged. "I can miss it. I filled in for Mike when he had a hangover that one time, so he owes me."

"Thanks Becky," Dave smiled. Becky kissed him on the cheek and opened her bright yellow umbrella.

"Here, you're making me look bad," Dave said. He took the umbrella from her so they could both be under it while they walked.

It wasn't raining as hard as it was before, but it was still hard enough for people to rush by or stay in the shelter of random kiosks if they didn't have an umbrella.

"Dave, you seem really out of it. And not just because of the whole Professor Hicks thing." Becky glanced at him sidelong, golden damp hair falling in front of her face. "What's going on?"

Dave glanced around. People were rushing by him, eager to get out of the rain. He lowered his voice anyway. You could never be too careful. "Well… for the last two weeks or so there've been some weird supernatural things going on. Like, more than usual I mean."

"Okay…" Becky said with a frown.

"Balthazar explained it to me like this. We have our world, and then a supernatural world where all the weird crazy stuff comes from. He calls it the Otherworld. It's kind of like another dimension. And the barrier separating the worlds is like … piece of fabric."

Dave watched a mom and a dad scoop up their three-year-old girl and whisk her into the safety of a large polka-dotted umbrella. "On some days of the year fabric stretches thinner, and things are able to slip through the little spaces." He pulled on the fabric of his sleeve to demonstrate. "Which is where sorcerers like Balthazar and Veronica come in. They help keep the balance between the two worlds and send the magic things back to the Otherworld."

"So…" Becky looked thoughtful. "For the last three weeks the line between the worlds has been thin?"

Dave looked at Becky adoringly. She was such an awesome girlfriend. She took the whole 'I'm a sorcerer' thing in stride, and she was really into it whenever he explained something that would normally sound bat shit insane to someone else.

"You're awesome. Yeah, Balthazar said sorcerers all over the place are working overtime. They've never seen anything like it. Which is why I've been tired all the time. Almost every night I've been helping Balthazar investigate some weird occurrence going on."

Becky looked impressed but also a little worried. "Wow, just like Spiderman."

"Just like Spiderman. If Spiderman fought trolls."

"Trolls?" Becky gasped. "When was this? Last night?"

Dave made a face and adjusted the umbrella. They rounded a corner and started to walk through Alphabet City. "Yeah, in Central Park. It wasn't willing to negotiate anything." Dave rolled his eyes. "Balthazar insisted trying to do that first. But it just charged me like a bull."

"I need to have a talk with that man," Becky mumbled in a disapproving voice.

"Yeah, good luck trying to reason with him," Dave laughed. "He's as bad as the troll."

* * *

Dave's apartment was small but comfortable enough for two people. It was on the third floor, above a pizza restaurant. He and his roommate, Bennet, got along fine, although Bennet would sometimes try to pry into his personal life too much.

He and Becky sloshed up the staircase, walking slowly so they wouldn't slip on the rain water. Dave hadn't realized he'd been shivering until he got into the apartment. Various physics papers were strewn around the kitchen or attached to the fridge along with some Chinese take-out place menus. A discarded pizza box was shoved haphazardly by the door and they had to step around it to enter.

Bennet sat at the kitchen table and looked up from some papers as they both entered.

"Hey, man. Wow, you're soaked. Don't you have class right now?"

Dave glared at him and kicked off his shoes. "Don't want to talk about it."

Bennet raised his hands in defense. "Just asking." He spotted Becky and waved. "Hey Becks. Thanks for saving Dave from drowning. I can't watch him twenty four-seven."

Becky pulled off her flower patterned rain boots and grinned. "Well, I do my best."

Bennet stood up and gathered his papers. "I'm gonna finish these in my room. Have fun you two." He winked and walked into his bedroom, closing the door.

Dave rolled his eyes. "I need to get changed before I catch hypothermia." Dave wandered into his room and pulled open a draw to get some clothes out. Becky followed and sat down on his bed. Dave's room was a mishmash of geeky paraphernalia. Star Wars and B-movie posters were slathered on his wall. Physics textbooks were piled on his desk along with various Sci-fi and fantasy novels.

Dave peeled off his clinging shirt and threw into onto a soaking pile on the floor. Becky sat there with a small smirk on her face. Dave raised an eyebrow at her. "If you're gonna watch, I charge a fee."

Becky crossed her arms. "Just enjoying the show."

Dave laughed and he pulled on a dry shirt and his favorite red sweater. "Sorry toots, I'm too cold right now to be in bare skin for long."

"Well, maybe we can warm things up a little later," Becky said, waggling her eyebrows.

Dave's mouth curled into a smile and he plopped down next to her on the bed. Their lips met in a deep kiss for moment. He pulled Becky close, nuzzling her golden hair. Becky in turn buried her face into the shoulder of his worn and slightly frayed red jacket. Its smell was mingled with charcoal and fabric softener, and a distinct sweet smell she couldn't place. It smelled like him.

"Are you sure you want to be the girlfriend of an all-powerful sorcerer?" she heard Dave mumble. "It could be more trouble than I'm worth."

Becky pulled back and studied his face. She knew it well; she knew its little nuances. And right now he was trying to hide a troubled expression.

Becky placed a hand on his cheek, meeting his gentle brown eyes with her blue ones.

"You're a physics nerd before you're a sorcerer to me." She patted his cheek. "You say stupid things sometimes. If I didn't think the trouble was worth you, do you think I'd be here right now?"

Dave smiled down at her and brushed a strand of blond hair from her face. "You're the most kick ass girlfriend ever."

"So I've been told."

They leaned in to kiss again when there was a sudden thumping sound at the window as if something had slammed into it. Dave frowned and glanced over. Rain pelted against the glass but he couldn't see anything outside. Becky and Dave glanced at each other and both rose to go to the window. Dave peeked outside and blinked in surprise.

On the fire escape a pure white pigeon stared up at him, flapping its wings in earnest. A small piece of paper was attached to its leg. Dave quickly opened the window and pulled the shivering bird inside. He undid the paper and put the pigeon on his desk. It shook itself and paced back at forth. Becky sat down on the chair and pet it, and it cooed happily.

Dave unrolled the piece of paper and scanned it over quickly. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Becky. "It's from Balthazar. He says it's urgent, and I need to get to him and Veronica immediately. I could be in danger."

* * *

A/N: If you somehow find this story to this new fandom, please review. Pretty please? With sugar on top? I'm pretty sure this is the first fanfiction for Sorcerer's Apprentice.


	2. Fog

**A/N: Wow, thank you guys so much for the overwhelming response for my first chapter! I totally was not expecting that! ^_^ All those reviews gave me the warm fuzzies.**

**Thanks to my beta, Jedi Pirate Jaeh for being awesome! xD If you didn't see her Sorcerer's Apprentice stories, high tail it and check them out now!**

**Also thank you to my sister for doing last minute edits on this thing! Please, check out her stories on fictionpress. The link is on my profile page. **

**I also realized that I forgot about Tank in the last chapter! Poor Tank, that's unforgivable. We'll just say he was sleeping in the corner somewhere. I added him in this chapter though to make amends.**

**Note: So my sister pointed out something interesting. I was telling her the plot to this and she said how in the movie there in no indication of anything from a supernatural world. The magic manipulates matter from _our_ world_, _so there's actually not anything otherworldly about it. True, true, but f****or the sake of this story however, there is a supernatural world.**

* * *

Dave threw a bunch of essentials into a book bag, including his physics textbook. The letter from Balthazar wasn't specific, so Dave didn't know what he was getting into. Balthazar might want him to stay there for a few days, maybe even longer.

Becky looked over the note with a small frown on her face. "Why didn't Balthazar come here himself?"

Dave attempted to shove the textbook into his book bag. "He uses the pigeons for stealth. They're way less conspicuous to baddies than if he landed on my doorstep on his giant eagle."

Dave coughed and glanced at the desk. The pigeon ruffled its feathers and cocked its head to the side. "Uh, speaking of which can you let the little guy out the window? I think he left a present on my desk."

Becky giggled and picked up the pigeon and released it through the open window. It beat its wings rapidly and flew through the rain until it was a white dot in the distance. Becky watched it go and turned back to her boyfriend. "Dave…how bad is this?"

Dave paused and looked up at her for a moment. "I don't know… but Balthazar usually isn't this concerned. He's probably worried about something tracking his magic."

Dave stopped packing for a moment and looked up at his girlfriend. He ran a hand over his face and swallowed. "Becky, I don't want you to get involved with this. It could be really dangerous." His voice dropped toa whisper. "And… I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."

He wasn't trying to be chivalrous or gallant. He honestly felt afraid that something horrible would happen to his girlfriend. That he would lose the girl he gave his heart to. She almost died once because of him, and he wouldn't let it happen again.

Becky stared at him for a long moment, her eyes roaming over his anxious face. "Dave, I know you're worried, but I can take care of myself. Besides…" she kissed him on the cheek. "What if you need saving again?"

Dave smiled weakly at her. He knew there wasn't much use arguing with Becky. She would come anyway, despite what he said to her. "Well since you're so infuriatingly stubborn, I'm going to make sure nothing happens to you." He threw the book bag over his shoulder and staggered slightly under the weight.

Becky snorted back her laughter. "Maybe you shouldn't have packed your physics textbooks."

"Hey, you never know when they could come in handy. Besides just because I'm the Prime Merlinian does not mean I'm exempt from school. Believe me, I've asked. Multiple times. "

* * *

Becky and Dave walked back into the kitchen to see Bennet rummaging around the fridge for some dinner. He looked up at them and smirked. "Hey, you guys leaving already? Talk about your quickies…"

Dave felt his cheeks go slightly pink, and he ignored the comment as per usual. "Bennet, Becky and I have to go… I'm not sure how long we'll be gone. Maybe a few days or something." He caught Becky's eyes and grinned.

Bennet narrowed his eyes suspiciously and looked from Dave's backpack, to him Becky holding hands, and his mouth opened in shock. "Are you guys _eloping_?"

Dave chuckled and wrapped an arm around Becky. "Hey, we're both old enough and madly in love. Why the hell not? Please don't look for us, we wish to start our lives anew."

"Man, I have to say I'm a little hurt. I thought you would at least tell _me_ of all people…"

Becky rolled her eyes and nudged Dave in the ribs. "We're not eloping. Dave needs to go stay with his friends for a few days, that's all."

Bennet looked disappointed. "Oh man, thought you guys were taking it to the next level. Ah well, when you do don't leave ol' Bennet out of the loop."

Dave patted Bennet on the shoulder. "Of course not, buddy."

Bennet scratched the back of his head. "Does this have to do with that old bum guy with that crazy name I met once?"

"That's sounds like a pretty accurate description of Balthazar, so yes."

"Okay," Bennet looked thoughtful. "He owns that antique shop right? With that Italian lady?"

Dave frowned and glanced at Becky. She raised her eyebrows. "Look, Bennet…" she began. "If someone comes looking for Dave, you can't tell them that's where he is."**  
**  
Bennet rubbed his chin nervously. "Are you in trouble for something, man? Is your dad…"

Dave shook his head sharply and Bennet closed his mouth, glancing at Becky.

"No, " Dave sighed. "Nothing like that. I just need to help Balthazar out with something."

"Okay, Dave." Bennet said, still frowning a bit. "If you say so."

"I say so. And please take good care of Tank. Remember to take him for lots of walks. He's getting fat."

The bulldog was curled up in the corner, a pool of slobber near his raised his head when Dave walked over and the dog's ears perked up "Bye-bye, beautiful," Dave cooed, tousling Tank's fur. Tank gave Dave an enthusiastic slobber then promptly fell back asleep.

Dave waved at Bennet and took Becky's hand with his non-slobbered one. "All right, let's go."

* * *

The rain had slowed down to a drizzle. Fog had trickled in, obscuring buildings and skyscrapers from view. Dave had actually prepared for the weather this time and grabbed his umbrella and boots so he wouldn't drown himself again.

"It figures," Dave sighed as they walked out onto the damp glistening street. "As soon as I actually have an umbrella the rain stops."

Becky patted his arm. "I'm sure you'll have you're very own little black rain cloud soon, sweetie."

"I can probably ask Balthazar how to make one."

Becky laughed and they were silent for a few moments. "So you have no idea what Balthazar meant in the letter?" Becky asked him.

Dave shrugged and stepped over a puddle. "No idea. It's always completely random with him, but if _he_ says I'm in danger, I have to believe him.I mean**,** he's the guy who throws random projectiles at me so I can perfect my shield spell, so yeah.

Becky let out a breath and clutched Dave's arm. "Yikes. Good point."

Over the last year Balthazar had changed a little. He was still as intense as ever, but he seemed to loosen up a bit. Maybe it was because of the whole, defeating Morgana thing and getting the love of his life back. He didn't even berate Dave when he didn't call him 'master' now, not that he ever really called him that anyway. Too many unfortunate connotations attached in this day and age.

"Dave," Becky began and chewed on her lip for a moment. Dave smiled down at her. "Hm? What's up Becks?"

"What was Bennet saying before? You know, about your dad?" Dave never really talked about his parents too much. She knew his father was an astrophysicist, who was also a professor at Princeton University**. **And that his mom had died when he was fifteen. That's all he ever said about that, and Becky didn't blame him in the slightest.

Dave cringed slightly. He couldn't help it. "Oh. That." He _really _did not want to talk about his father right now. "Look, uh… Becky, can we talk about this some other time?"

Becky nodded and didn't pursue the subject. It obviously made him uncomfortable and she didn't want to push it. "Of course."

"Thanks," he sighed and hitched up his book bag. They made their way into Greenwich Village. The buildings became more residential and upper-middle class. Balthazar and Veronica had opened their antique here and were doing surprisingly well for themselves. Well maybe not surprisingly. They were sorcerers after all.

It was still misty and raining out. The Washington Square Arch loomed over them in near silhouette because of the thick mist.

"Hey, we made it to Washington Square park without being attacked by zombies," Dave said brightly. He looked around worriedly. "Although… maybe I shouldn't speak so soon.

NYU buildings were right next to the park so it was almost always filled with college students and pedestrians. Which was why Dave found the lack of people around very unnerving. Usually, even in the worst of weather there would at least be a few people in the park.

As he and Becky walked through, the fog thickened and made it nearly impossible to see the surrounding buildings. Only vague wisps and outlines of them were visible.

Becky noticed it too. "Dave… it wasn't this foggy a minute ago. Where is everyone?" she asked quietly. Becky took his hand. It was warm and helped ground his rising apprehension.

"I… don't know," Dave muttered. "Let's hope alien abduction, and not that we stumbled into a Silent Hill game."

Becky snorted and glanced around. "I can't even tell which way we're going anymore. This is crazy."

"Yeah. But we should keep… "Dave suddenly stopped in his tracks. An icy cold feeling ran down his spine and his hairs prickled on the back of his neck. He shrugged off his book bag and dropped it to the ground.

"Dave! What's wrong?"

"Becky," he said evenly. "Get behind me."

"What is it?" Becky gulped, and her face went pale "Another troll?"

Dave shook his head and stepped in front of her. The atmosphere now felt slimy and creeping, as if the fog was reaching around them with tendrils. "I've never sensed something like this before."

"Wait," Becky said, pointing into the fog. "I think that's someone over there."

A faint dark outline of a person made it's way toward them from the haze. The feeling in Dave's spine grew worse and his breath caught in his throat.

"Becky, I don't think that's a-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. The figure lunged at them with an ear-splitting shriek. Dave put his hands up and the power surged through him. A translucent shield came over him and Becky with a whirl of magic and the thing banged against it with a dull smack.

It recovered and snarled, and they were able to finally see what it looked like. It was humanoid in appearance, but crouched on all fours, apelike. The skin was rippling with powerful muscles but it appeared diseased. Skin peeled and flaked from the creature's bulky body.

It didn't have any eyes, but it didn't need any. The frightened college students heard it snuffling around as it smelled them, and it licked a black tongue over its fangs.

"Dave, what the hell is that thing," Becky whispered hoarsely, her voice quavering.

"I have no idea," Dave answered, sounding equally terrified. The thing suddenly jerked its head at Dave and let out another bone-chilling shriek. Dave wavered and realized his shield was in danger of collapsing. The humanoid abomination suddenly threw itself wildly against the shield, shrieking and clawing, trying to tear its way in. Dave cried out, trying desperately to hold the barrier as his concentration dwindled.

The monster screeched in fury and turned its eyeless head directly to Dave. Sudden coldness surrounded him, as if he was just plunged into ice water, and Dave realized it was hunting _him_, not Becky.

"Becky," he shouted. "I'm going to lower this shield. And when I do, you need to run."

"What? I'm not leaving you with this thing!"

"Listen," he gasped as the effort to maintain the shield grew more difficult. "It's after _me_. I'll distract it, you get out of here."

"Dave-!"

The creature slammed into Dave's shield and it shattered. Becky screamed and fell backwards. Dave staggered and it lunged at him, its fangs gnashing**.** He wasn't sure if his instincts kicked in or what, but a plasma bolt materialized in his hands. It wasn't the most powerful plasma bolt, but hey, he wasn't being picky at the moment. He released the magic and it hit the monster squarely in the face. It reeled back, squealing in anger and pain.

"Becky," Dave shouted over his shoulder. "Run-"

He didn't finish his warning, however. The breath was knocked out of him, and he was on the ground, a mass of slimy skin and muscle on top of him. He brought his arms up and summoned a weak barrier as the thing clawed and bit down on him. The barrier exploded outward and forced his attacker off. The monster **s**kidded a few feet away. Dave focused another attack but the monster was too quick. It scrambled forward and grabbed his leg. He fell to the ground again and his head hit the concrete.

Once he blinked the stars away, he realized he was being _dragged._ It was clawing at his jacket and hood, scratching his face, dragging him away into the mist. Dave yelled something incoherently and blindly shot another burst of blue energy. The beast howled and yanked on his hair as Dave frantically tried to break free from it. Then to Dave's utter shock he heard a guttural voice, raspy with a strange reverberating quality. "_Be good Merlinian… wants in one piece… no food… right now…" _

Suddenly there was a _thunk _and the monster staggered, giving Dave ample time to tear himself away. He looked around wildly and saw Becky standing there with one of his physics textbooks held aloft.

"Nice one," Dave gasped.

"You're right, these things come in handy!" Becky laughed shrilly.

The creature had already recovered and turned its attention to Becky. _"Can eat… flesh…" _

"Yeah, I don't think so," Dave snarled unleashing a powerful plasma bolt. It stumbled and hissed angrily. _Dammit, this thing will not go down! _"Hey, ugly, I'm over here!"

It screamed and lunged at him, teeth bared. Dave braced himself as best as he could for someone about to be torn to shreds.

There was a blinding flash of blue and the monster was knocked to the side in midair. Out of the fog, Balthazar and Veronica emerged. Power pulsated in their hands, ready to be unleashed.

Dave stumbled up and ran over to Becky, who fell into his arms, eyes wide in terror. He could feel her shaking.

Balthazar's face was set in stone cold fury, and he walked forward unwavering, even as the monster rounded on him and howled.

"You have broken the Law of Neutrality and have acted violently on Mortal grounds," Balthazar growled. "What manner of creature are you?"

The monster made a strange high pitched wheezing sound and Dave realized with a shudder it was laughing. "_Fool… the child… comes with me_."

Veronica unleashed her own purple plasma and it sent the monster flying through the air and it hit a lamppost with a resounding clang. The lamppost dented in the middle and the creature crumpled to the ground. For the first time it seemed to be debilitated from the attack.

"You don't touch these children," she stated calmly. "You will tell us who sent you, and why you want the Prime Merlinian."

"_Does not… matter… more will come… darkness will shroud… and we will feast… _"

Then it shrieked and suddenly galloped into the dark mist, leaving the four humans alone once more.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, so, darker chapter and stuff. Review anyway?**


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